This invention relates to methods and apparatus for detecting a time-varying current. In particular, the invention detects a transient current produced by a variety of physical mechanisms, e.g., a pulse of current carried on an electrical conductor, with a better signal-to-noise ratio than the existing current sensors provide.
One important application of the apparatus of the invention relates to the detection of a sudden localized redistribution of charge at a defective point of an insulation which is under high electric stress, e.g., electric power cables, high voltage transformers. Such a redistribution of charge leads to an intermittent arcing that signals the presence of a fault. The term fault, as used herein, refers both to an incipient fault which may not cause an immediate failure but may eventually lead to a failure, and also to a complete failure of the system. It is well-known that partial discharge events are common precursors to many significant failure modes in a variety of high voltage devices.
The early detection of an incipient fault through monitoring partial discharge events can prevent the occurrence of a complete failure which may result in considerable inconvenience and financial loss. For example, the failure of high voltage devices of a utility company such as transformers and high voltage distribution cables, especially during a critical period, can lead to enormous inconvenience for the customers and financial loss for the company.
The energy associated with a partial discharge event is typically extremely small. This energy is particularly small when the defect that gives rise to the partial discharge is at its early stages of development. Given the desirability of detecting defects at such early stages, it is evident that having a sensor that detects a pulse of current with a high signal-to-noise ratio is extremely desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,629 discloses a device for detecting a partial discharge in a transformer. In particular, this patent discloses an antenna, constructed of a single solid core with a conducting wire wrapped around it, that is placed inside the transformer to detect emission of an electromagnetic wave produced by the transformer as a result of the occurrence of a partial discharge. The center of the conducting wire wrapped around the single core is grounded to produce two coils. The time-varying magnetic field of the electromagnetic wave induces two voltages in the coils that provide the input signals for a differential amplifier. The output of the amplifier signals the occurrence of a partial discharge.
The antenna disclosed in the ""629 patent has a solid core that does not permit the passage of a cable therethrough. Thus, the apparatus can not be connected directly through a cable to the transformer to receive a current pulse that a partial discharge produces. Accordingly, it relies on a weaker mode of coupling, i.e., detection of the electromagnetic wave emanated from the transformer. This mode of coupling imposes the further limitation that the apparatus can not be employed outside the transformer because high voltage transformers are typically shielded by enclosures.
Some prior art techniques relate to finding the location of a partial discharge event so as to allow correction of the defect giving rise to the discharge. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,364 discloses an apparatus for detecting the location of an incipient fault in an insulated cable. In particular, the apparatus of the invention scans the surface of the cable by physically moving two separate axially spaced sensors, disposed adjacent to the surface, over the cable. A partial discharge event produces a current pulse through the cable which, in turn, produces electrical pulses at each of the two sensors. These two pulses are added to produce a resultant signal whose magnitude reaches a maximum if the partial discharge occurs at a point midway between the two sensors, thus indicating the location of the discharge.
The energy produced by a partial discharge event in a high voltage device is typically extremely small. Accordingly, it is imperative that the system designed for detecting such events provide a means of coupling to the device that has a minimal loss and also a detection means that provide a high signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, periodic monitoring of a device for partial discharges requires a system that can be easily connected to and disconnected from the device. Many prior art systems suffer from a number of limitations related to the above-mentioned desirable features that the present invention seeks to remedy. For example, the use of the apparatus of ""629 patent not only employs a weak mode of coupling to the transformer but also requires opening up a transformer to place the antenna within it. The apparatus of the ""364 patent is essentially a timing system for signaling the arrival of two pulses at the sensors, and does not provide new techniques for improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the detected pulses.
It should be understood that the desirability of detecting transient currents with a high signal-to-noise ratio is not limited to monitoring of partial discharges. Another possible application, for example, relates to monitoring a beam of electrons or ions used in implantation systems.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to detect a transient current carried by a wire with an improved signal-to-noise ratio.
It is another object of the invention to detect a pulse of current or a beam of charged particles with an improved signal-to-noise ratio.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a current sensor that can be easily calibrated.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a current sensor with a broad-band and/or selectable frequency response.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an apparatus for monitoring partial discharges in high voltage devices with an improved signal-to-noise ratio.
The invention is next described in connection with illustrated embodiments. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications to the embodiment can be made without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention.
The invention detects a time-varying current by employing a plurality of generally toroidal coils with separate windings that are placed in close proximity of each other such that they respond to a current signal, which passes through the central aperture of the toroids, at substantially the same time. In particular, the current induces a plurality of voltages across these coils where each induced voltage indicates the detection of the current. The invention also allows combining the induced voltages, i.e., summing and/or subtracting the voltages, to produce a resultant signal that signifies the existence of the time-varying current. A single coil of toroidal construction is sometimes referred to as a Rogowski coil.
It is well understood in physics that a changing magnetic flux within a coil induces a voltage across it. Furthermore, a current due to moving charged particles produces a surrounding magnetic field. Accordingly, a changing magnetic flux, associated with a current pulse, through the closely-spaced coils of the present invention induces a plurality of voltages across them. The spacings between the coils are selected such that each coil responds to substantially the same magnetic field. In addition, each coil is electrically insulated from the others so that each induced voltage represents an independent response to the same current. The induced voltages can be either utilized individually or can be combined in various ways, described more fully below, to produce a combined signal.
One aspect of the invention relates to selecting at least one coil to have either a winding of opposite polarity with respect to another coil or to have a winding of similar polarity but reverse output connections with respect to the other coil. Two such coils are herein referred to as having opposite polarities with respect to each other. The induced voltages across two coils having opposite polarities have opposite phases relative to each other. In addition, the close proximity of two such coils ensures that the character of noise on the induced voltage across one coil is substantially similar to that on the induced voltage across the other coil. Accordingly, subtraction of the induced voltages across two coils of opposite polarities results in addition of the two induced voltages and reduction of the noise, i.e., an improved signal to noise ratio.
The invention also allows selection of at least one coil of the plurality of closely-spaced coils as a calibration coil. The injection of a known driven current into such a calibration coil induces a current in an electrical conductor, disposed in the middle of the sensor, which in turn produces a time-varying magnetic flux in the other coils. The time-varying magnetic field induces a plurality of voltages across these coils. Because the value of the injected current in the calibration coil is known, the value of the response induced in the other coils by the injected current can be readily calculated. Thus, the measurement of the induced voltages due to the injected current provides calibration of the coils.
In another aspect of the invention, the closely-spaced coils are adapted for detection of a time-varying magnetic field that has different selected frequency regions including a wide frequency bandwidth. In particular, at least one coil is chosen to be different from the others, e.g., at least one coil is chosen to have a different number of windings and/or different core material. The response of such a coil is optimal at a particular frequency which is different from the frequencies at which the other coils exhibit their optimal responses. This results in a current sensor with a wider bandwidth and/or with simultaneous optimal responses in different frequency regions. For example, a broad-band sensor according to the invention can have one coil with a frequency response centered at 60 Hz, and another coil with a frequency response centered at 1 MHz. The invention preferably selects the coils such that the aggregate response of the coils span the frequency band-width of interest of the time-varying magnetic field. Some embodiments of the invention sum the induced voltages across the coils of such a wide-band magnetic sensor to obtain a resultant signal that signifies the presence of the time-varying current.
One important application of a wide-band current sensor relates to the detection of a transient current having a short temporal duration and being carried by an electrical conductor. This can be understood by noting that such a pulse of current has many frequency components in its frequency bandwidth. The coils can be designed such that each coil responds optimally to a selected number of these frequency components. Thus, the aggregate response of all of the coils to the transient current is more effective than the response of each individual coil.
It should be understood that production of a current sensor that incorporates all of the various features described above is within the scope of the present invention. In particular, a sensor having a plurality of coils such that at least two coils yield opposite polarities with respect to each other, or at least one coil is a calibration coil, or at least one coil has a frequency response that is different from the frequency response of the others incorporates all of the above-mentioned features.
The invention also contemplates disposing a plurality of coils on a number of cores such that each coil responds to a time-varying current at substantially the same time. According to one aspect of the invention, the coils are disposed on separate cores. The material of the cores is selected to have a high magnetic permeability, e.g., ferrite material, or air, so as to allow penetration of a magnetic field into the body of the cores. The penetration of the magnetic field into the cores results in a changing magnetic flux within the coils disposed on the cores which in turn induces a plurality of voltages across the coils. The structures of the cores can be selected, e.g., toroidal, or substantially toroidal, to provide sensors suitable for a variety of applications. The use of separate cores allows attaining separate independent signals from each of the plurality of coils in response to the same magnetic field.
It is typically desirable to select a magnetic core, on which a coil for detection of a time-varying current is disposed, to be as large as possible. The advantage of employing a large core can be understood by noting that as the size of the core increases, it intersects with larger number of magnetic field lines of a time-varying magnetic field, thus resulting in a larger magnetic flux within the core. The larger magnetic flux, in turn, results in a larger induced voltage across the coil disposed on the core, i.e., a better signal-to-noise ratio. Large magnetic cores are, however, costly and difficult to manufacture. The employment of multiple cores by the present invention achieves the advantages of utilizing a single large core, e.g., better signal-to-noise ratio, without its drawbacks, e.g., higher cost and difficulty of manufacture.
The toroidal and the quasi-toroidal structures are particularly suited for detecting a current pulse being carried on an electrical conductor. One important application of such a detection of a current pulse relates to signaling the occurrence of a fault in a high voltage device, e.g., a high voltage transformer or a high voltage electrical cable. For example, the occurrence of a partial discharge in such a high voltage device produces current pulses that can be detected by a magnetic sensor according to the present invention.
While a number of preferred embodiments of the invention employ a plurality of cores, the invention can also be practiced by employing a single core with a plurality of coils disposed thereon. A first coil is wound around the core, and subsequently successive coils are disposed on the first coil, each on top of the previous one. In addition, an electrically insulating material is disposed between any two adjacent coils to isolate them from each other so that each coil provides an independent response to a transient magnetic field. The structure of the single core on which the coils are disposed can be selected to be toroidal, and quasi-toroidal.
Similar to sensors according to the present invention that comprise a plurality of cores, a sensor with a single core and a multiplicity of coils, as explained above, can also incorporate the various aspects of the present invention. In particular, production of such a sensor having at least a pair of coils with opposite polarities, and/or having at least one calibration coil, and/or having at least one coil that is different from the others, is within the scope of the present invention.
Another aspect of the invention is to employ the multiple closely-spaced coils in conjunction with a network of capacitors, inductors, and resistors to produce a resonant electronic L-C-R circuit. The use of such a resonant circuit enhances currents at selected frequencies, and hence increases the induced voltages, thus rendering the detection of weak time-varying magnetic fields feasible. As was mentioned previously, one important application of the sensor of the invention is for detection of partial discharges in high voltage devices. Because such PD events are typically of short durations, e.g., less than a microsecond, the values of the inductance, the capacitance, and the resistance of a resonant L-C-R circuit employed in a sensor designed for detection of such events are typically selected to produce a resonant frequency in the range 30 kHz to 5 MHz.
Thus, the invention allows the differential detection of a transient magnetic field, and attains the aforementioned advantages including a better signal-to-noise ratio, a selectable bandwidth, easy calibration, and possible reduction in cost.